Moore-Jones' Gallipoli landscapes

Moore-Jones' Gallipoli landscapes

The terrible country towards Suvla, by Horace Millichamp Moore-Jones, 1915

The terrible country toward Sulva by Horace Moore-Jones, 1915 The coast north of Anzac Cove by Horace Moore-Jones, 1915 The Sphinx by Horace Moore-Jones, 1915 The Turk entrenchment positions by Horace Moore-Jones, 1915 No 1, 2, 3, Outposts by Horace Moore-Jones, 1915

Other Moore-Jones Gallipoli landscapes (click on thumbnails to see full images)

Horace Moore-Jones' Gallipoli landscapes

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Horace Moore-Jones was living in Britain. He was 42 years old, but gave his age as 32 so he could enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). Moore-Jones was sent to Gallipoli to make drawings of the area because there were no useful maps. Towards the end of 1915 his drawing hand was injured, but while recovering in England he somehow managed to produce nearly 80 watercolours of Gallipoli.

While Moore-Jones' paintings provide a topographically correct impression of the Gallipoli landscape, they present a peculiarly sterilized version of the campaign. There are only a few small indications that these sun-drenched vistas were actually vicious battlefields. Instead, Moore-Jones has deliberately focused his compositions on the imposing and inhospitable physicality of the terrain, which proved such a menacing obstacle for the Anzacs. The figures of the soldiers are completely dwarfed by these sharp cliffs and deep valleys, and the Ottoman soldiers – particularly their lethal snipers – are totally hidden from view, as they were in reality.

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Richard Gibbs

Posted: 06 Jun 2010

The set of ten prints was published on 1st Sept 1916 at a price of 5 pounds and five shillings, with an associated index booklet. I have an original set of ten marked special series in original cloth folio , along with the index booklet and original magazine advert for the set Let me know if you want any images / more info ! Cheers